Business Insider: Gus Lubinhttp://www.businessinsider.com/author/gus-lubin
en-usFri, 09 Dec 2016 21:39:19 -0500Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:39:19 -0500The latest news from Gus Lubin on Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-gave-mitt-romney-advice-2016-12Peter Thiel gave Mitt Romney some prescient advice in 2012 — and was ignoredhttp://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-gave-mitt-romney-advice-2016-12
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 19:05:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/583ef4dfe02ba738018b6cb9-2400" alt="Mitt Romney" data-mce-source="Drew Angerer/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Mitt Romney." /></p><p>Back in 2012, before Peter Thiel supported&nbsp;<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2016/11/22/exclusive-interview-how-jared-kushner-won-trump-the-white-house/#15f5e9b42f50">Donald Trump's quest to become president</a>, the billionaire tech investor gave sharp advice to presidential candidate Mitt Romney &mdash; and was apparently ignored.</p>
<p>"I think the most pessimistic candidate is going to win, because if you are too optimistic it suggests you are out of touch," Thiel told Romney, as&nbsp;reported in George Packer&rsquo;s "<span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANI9GIQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1">The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America</a>."</span></p>
<p>Thiel's point was that most of America&nbsp;<span>didn't share the rosy view found in&nbsp;Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Instead of simply&nbsp;telling people that President Barack Obama was incompetent, he said, a challenger should&nbsp;say the country&nbsp;was broken and needed major change.</span></p>
<p><span>But Romney didn't get it.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><span>Wrote&nbsp;Packer: "He assumed that the more optimistic candidate would always win. He assumed that things were still fundamentally working."</span></span></p>
<p>And the rest is history. Romney lost, and Trump came out with a shockingly pessimistic campaign &mdash; daring to say that America wasn&rsquo;t great anymore &mdash; and won.</p>
<p>If you're wondering why Thiel keeps supporting Republicans, check out our report on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-is-trying-to-save-the-world-2016-12">Thiel's philosophy</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-gave-mitt-romney-advice-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-says-proud-gay-republican-2016-7">Watch Peter Thiel tell the RNC audience that he's proud to be gay and Republican</a></p> Drew Angerer/Getty Imageshttp://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-is-trying-to-save-the-world-2016-12Peter Thiel is trying to save the world: The apocalyptic theory behind his actionshttp://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-is-trying-to-save-the-world-2016-12
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:27:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/584843afe02ba7e5008b7e7a-800/1388752618884b45c0a52o 1.jpg" alt="Peter Thiel" data-mce-source="Dan Taylor / Heisenberg Media" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/heisenbergmedia/13887526188/in/photostream/" /></p><p></p>
<p>Peter Thiel, a PayPal founder and tech luminary, upset a lot of people by endorsing Donald Trump. (Wasn't Silicon Valley supposed to be liberal?) He has also upset people by crushing Gawker Media, attacking the college system, criticizing multiculturalism, and more.</p>
<p>Thiel usually explains his actions in libertarian or pragmatic terms. He does stuff to promote individual freedom. He does stuff because it's logical.</p>
<p>If you look at his wonkier writings, however, it's clear Thiel also recognizes a larger historical mission. In short, he's trying to save the world from apocalypse.</p>
<p>"We are in a deadly race between politics and technology," Thiel wrote in a <a href="https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian">2009 essay on Cato Unbound</a>. "The future will be much better or much worse, but the question of the future remains very open indeed. ... The fate of our world may depend on the effort of a single person who builds or propagates the machinery of freedom that makes the world safe for capitalism."</p>
<p>Thiel's philosophy, though complex, is coherent and provocative. It's also arguably liberal &mdash; at least in the classical sense of valuing individual freedom.</p>
<p>In this article, we'll try to break it down and show how it relates to various actions. Thiel declined to be interviewed, so we'll focus on his past comments.</p>
<h2>"The limitless violence of runaway mimesis or the peace of the kingdom of God"</h2>
<p>To understand Thiel's outlook, you have to look at mimetic theory, an idea developed by Ren&eacute; Girard, whom Thiel studied with at Stanford and in whose name <a href="http://www.imitatio.org/">he sponsors an institute</a>.</p>
<p>"I've noticed that it takes a long time to really sink in," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-on-rene-girards-influence-2014-11">Thiel said in 2014 about Girard's theories</a>. "You can understand what his words mean as philosophical concepts without understanding how those concepts play out in life."</p>
<p><strong>Like Girard, Thiel believes that ...</strong></p>
<p><strong>... mankind's extraordinary capacity for mimesis, aka imitation, leads to envy. </strong></p>
<p>Human see, human want.</p>
<p>In ancient cultures, this often resulted in chaos.</p>
<p>"The fundamental problem in these cultures was that there were all sorts of conflicts everywhere," <a href="http://blakemasters.com/post/24578683805/peter-thiels-cs183-startup-class-18-notes">Thiel said in a 2012 class</a>, according to notes by his former student Blake Masters, which we'll treat as verbatim.</p>
<p><strong>... society controls tensions through scapegoating.</strong></p>
<p>"Where warring civilizations didn't just collapse entirely, the most common resolution involved polarizing and channeling all the hostility into one particular person," Thiel told his class.</p>
<p>Early examples of scapegoats might include Oedipus and Julius Caesar. Recent examples might include Bill Gates, Kanye West, and Donald Trump.</p>
<p>By literally or figuratively sacrificing these figures, people are able to find a cathartic release for anger, envy, and other destructive urges.</p>
<p><strong>... modern thought aims to uncover the truth about society. </strong></p>
<p>The fact that society is built on violence and justified by lies. The fact that we have these violent urges in us.</p>
<p>Girard and Thiel hold the New Testament as a seminal text, with its defense of innocent victims through history and its focus on Christ, the most innocent scapegoat of all.</p>
<p>"For Girard, the knowledge of the founding murder is driven by the historical working of the Judeo-Western revelation," <a href="https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=nv_EshzTdXEC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;output=reader&amp;hl=en&amp;pg=GBS.PT300">Thiel wrote in 2004</a>. "The revelation may be slow (because it contains a message that humans do not wish to hear), but it is not reversible."</p>
<p>Thiel also describes modern thought in terms that might be called liberal or libertarian. As <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SQLF352/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1">he wrote in 1996</a>, "The breakthrough involved a single revolutionary idea: that individuals exist and have rights, and that these rights are independent of the cultures these individuals happen to inhabit."</p>
<p>The spread of modern thought might lead to paradise, but ...</p>
<p><strong>... modern thought is dangerous.</strong></p>
<p>By exposing the lies that hold up society &mdash; e.g., that we are good and others are evil &mdash; modern thought makes it harder to justify ongoing exploitation.</p>
<p>What's more, modernity has introduced ever larger societies, opening the possibility for ever larger mimetic rivalries. Today, for instance, people around the world might be aware of and jealous of how people in the West live.</p>
<p>"For Girard, this combination of mimesis and the unraveling of archaic culture implies that the modern world contains a powerfully apocalyptic dimension," Thiel wrote in 2004.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5840381dba6eb61b008b6f24-1280" alt="Peter Thiel Chess" data-mce-source="AGON Limited" /></p>
<p><strong>Where Thiel goes beyond Girard is in ideas about influencing the future.</strong></p>
<p>Thiel laid out his own worldview at a 2004 philosophical conference, which he sponsored, on "<a href="https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=nv_EshzTdXEC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;output=reader&amp;hl=en&amp;pg=GBS.PT300">Politics and Apocalypse</a>." As <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2016/08/02/mimesis-and-violence-part-1-peter-thiels-french-connection/">noted by the scholar Geoff Shullenberger</a>, "Thiel's contribution to the conference, seeks common ground between Girard's mimetic theory of human social life &hellip; and the work of two right-wing, anti-democratic political philosophers who were in vogue in the years following 9/11: Leo Strauss &hellip; and Carl Schmitt."</p>
<p>In a world of nuclear weapons, facing the scale of terrorism seen on 9/11 or worse, true liberal thinkers must act forcefully to spread their values and stave off existential risks, Thiel argued.</p>
<p>On the philosophical front, that meant reengaging with important questions about human nature &mdash; e.g., what are good and evil and why is society the way it is.</p>
<p>"Today, mere self-preservation forces all of us to look at the world anew, to think strange new thoughts, and thereby to awaken from that very long and profitable period of intellectual slumber and amnesia that is so misleadingly called the Enlightenment," Thiel wrote.</p>
<p>On the political front, that meant taking occasionally secret or undemocratic actions.</p>
<p>"Instead of the United Nations, filled with interminable and inconclusive parliamentary debates that resemble Shakespearean tales told by idiots, we should consider Echelon, the secret coordination of the world's intelligence services, as the decisive path to a truly global <em>pax America</em>," Thiel wrote.</p>
<p>"The postmodern world," Thiel wrote, "could differ from the modern world in a way that is much worse or much better &mdash; the limitless violence of runaway mimesis or the peace of the kingdom of God."</p>
<h2>How to save the world</h2>
<p>Thiel's apocalyptic mission &mdash; which might be described as spreading individual freedom while preventing cataclysmic mimetic violence &mdash; appears to be a factor in many of his actions.</p>
<p>His attack on multiculturalism &mdash; such as in his 1995 book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SQLF352/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1">The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on Campus</a>" &mdash; was a warning against a new form of scapegoating.</p>
<p>"Rather than breaking the cycle of human history, multiculturalism merely represents another link in the long chain of victimization and revenge," Thiel wrote.</p>
<p>What's more, Thiel argued, debates about female culture, black culture, and a thousand other cultures were distracting from more important questions about human culture.</p>
<p>Founding PayPal, which launched in 1999, may have been a way to spread individual freedom and keep dangerous political forces in check. Thiel said in an early speech (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel#cite_note-30">recounted by Eric Jackson</a>): "PayPal will give citizens worldwide more direct control over their currencies than they ever had before. It will be nearly impossible for corrupt governments to steal wealth from their people through their old means, because if they try, the people will switch to dollars or pounds or yen, in effect dumping the worthless local currency for something more secure."</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/541b3d006da811297abb3e16-1958" alt="peter thiel elon musk early paypal" data-mce-source="AP" /></p>
<p>PayPal, notably, didn't work quite as intended. September 11 "proved fatal to PayPal's libertarian ambition &mdash; electronic currency systems suddenly seemed like ideal ways for terrorists to hide money," <a href="https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&amp;output=reader&amp;id=Gf4GZXvAL_gC&amp;pg=GBS.PA134.w.3.0.72">George Packer wrote</a>. (The company sold to eBay in 2002.)</p>
<p>Founding Palantir, a big data analysis company specializing in security, in 2004, might have been Thiel's way of supporting forceful but necessary political actions. Remember Thiel's line about the global spy network Echelon being "the decisive path to a truly global <em>pax America</em>"? It is clearly echoed in <a href="https://www.palantir.com/solutions/defense/">Palantir Defense's</a> mission to fuse "data and analysis across geographically dispersed users, providing commanders with the latest intelligence no matter where they are."</p>
<p>Investing in Facebook, back in 2004, could be read as a way to spread individual freedom. As <a href="https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian">Thiel wrote years later</a>, "companies like Facebook create the space for new modes of dissent and new ways to form communities not bounded by historical nation-states." Additionally, perhaps Facebook was "a mechanism for the containment and channeling of mimetic violence in the face of an ineffectual state," <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2016/08/09/mimesis-and-facebook-part-2-harnessing-violence/">Shullenberger wrote</a> &mdash; let people fight on social media, and they won't fight in real life.</p>
<p>Thiel did at least recognize the potential of Facebook through mimetic theory.</p>
<p>"Facebook first spread by word of mouth, and it's about word of mouth, so it's doubly mimetic," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/arts/international/rene-girard-french-theorist-of-the-social-sciences-dies-at-91.html">he told The New York Times</a>. "Social media proved to be more important than it looked, because it's about our natures."</p>
<p>Thiel's other activities in the past decade might be summed up as trying to spread liberal innovation and disrupt stagnation.</p>
<p>Thiel promoted innovations like artificial intelligence, life extension, and seasteading &mdash; the creation of new societies in international waters. In his 2014 book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J6YBOFQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1">Zero to One</a>," Thiel championed the idea of true innovation (going from 0 to 1) as opposed to copying (going from 1 to n). No wonder he was popular in Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>Thiel tried to disrupt what he saw as an overpriced and not-truly-intellectual university system, which he challenged with $100,000 Thiel Fellowships that required recipients to drop out of college, and what he saw as an overpriced and incompetent government, which he challenged by supporting libertarian and conservative groups and candidates.</p>
<p>Which just about brings us to the present.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58497947ba6eb606688b71cc-1200" alt="Peter Theil" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz" data-mce-caption="Peter Theil walks out of Trump Tower." /></p>
<p>In May 2016, Thiel admitted to funding Hulk Hogan's privacy lawsuit against Gawker Media, which eventually bankrupted the publication. This action upset many liberals because it appeared to be an attack on the freedom of the press &mdash; after all, Gawker had antagonized Thiel in 2007 by outing him as gay, and now the powerful man appeared to be getting revenge.</p>
<p>Thiel publicly defended himself by saying he was defending broader issues of online privacy.</p>
<p>"The press is too important to let its role be undermined by those who would search for clicks at the cost of the profession's reputation," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/opinion/peter-thiel-the-online-privacy-debate-wont-end-with-gawker.html?_r=0">he wrote in The Times</a>. Thiel pointed to his support of the Committee to Protect Journalists as evidence of good faith.</p>
<p>Perhaps privately, Thiel worried that Gawker was stirring up tensions and slowing global progress with its gleeful embrace of scapegoating. Shullenberger <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2016/08/09/mimesis-and-facebook-part-2-harnessing-violence/">observed the same</a> in a recent essay.</p>
<p>"It seems reasonable to conclude that Thiel's animus against Gawker, which he has repeatedly accused of 'bullying' him and other Silicon Valley power players, is closely connected to his core concern with scapegoating, derived from his longstanding engagement with Girard's ideas," Shullenberger wrote. Perhaps Thiel also feared that Gawker was undermining the kind of journalism that spread truth.</p>
<p>As for his thoughts on sexual privacy, Thiel's stance appears to follow his criticism of multiculturalism. He doesn't want to identify as a gay man; he'd rather identify as a human.</p>
<p>In June 2016, Thiel took his most provocative action yet. Appearing at the Republican National Convention, he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-slams-republicans-in-convention-speech-2016-7">endorsed Donald Trump for president</a>.</p>
<p>"I'm not a politician. But neither is Donald Trump," Thiel told the audience. "He is a builder, and it's time to rebuild America."</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/58497a70e02ba75e658b708b-1200" alt="Peter Thiel" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Rick Wilking" data-mce-caption="Thiel stole the show at the Republican National Convention. Note the banner: &amp;quotMake America One Again.&amp;quot" /></p>
<p>Thiel's support for Trump surprised many people who may have assumed that any smart person out of Silicon Valley must be a liberal, but it made sense in a lot of ways.</p>
<p>On the surface, Thiel might have liked a candidate who was a founder, who mocked political correctness, who pledged to reduce the size of government, and who, in general, seemed likely to disrupt politics as usual.</p>
<p>Although Thiel was once skeptical about politics &mdash; he wrote in 2004 that "no new Alexander is in sight to cut the Gordian knot of our age" &mdash; perhaps he saw Trump as the rare leader who might accomplish something.</p>
<p>On a deeper level, perhaps Trump fit into Thiel's grand historical plans. Here was a man who would disrupt the runaway mimesis caused by globalization, which encouraged people around the world to compare their lives to everyone else's. Here was a man who was already channeling mimetic tensions through scapegoating &mdash; conservatives were venting about Mexicans, the Chinese, and Hillary Clinton, while liberals were venting about Trump himself. By serving these functions, the provocative candidate might paradoxically defuse or distract from global tensions.</p>
<p>Perhaps, <a href="http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/the-scapegoating-machine/">as suggested by Shullenberger and others</a>, Trump is destined to become a scapegoat for the ages, a kinglike figure who is in one way or another sacrificed to create a new world order.</p>
<p>"Trump even viscerally looks the part of the old scapegoat kings who would be ceremonially paraded before being sacrificed," the <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/trump-and-the-scapegoat-effect/">anthropologist David Gornoski wrote</a>.</p>
<p>Has Thiel really done these things to ensure the spread of individual freedom, in pursuit of global peace? Whatever exactly he is doing, don't expect him to talk openly about it.</p>
<p>Thiel subscribes to "the Straussian idea that it's important for the intellectual elite and the ruling class to have secrets," Shullenberger wrote in an email. As scary as that sounds, one might take faith in the idea that Thiel believes in a final reckoning.</p>
<p>"The Christian statesman or stateswoman must diverge from the teachings of Strauss in one decisive respect," Thiel wrote in 2004. "One must never forget that one day all will be revealed, that all injustices will be exposed, and that those who perpetrated them will be held to account."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-is-trying-to-save-the-world-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-says-proud-gay-republican-2016-7">Watch Peter Thiel tell the RNC audience that he's proud to be gay and Republican</a></p> Dan Taylor / Heisenberg Mediahttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-professions-are-most-respected-2016-12Here's which professions get the most and least respecthttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-professions-are-most-respected-2016-12
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:27:41 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/57bdc6cdce38f2db088b899f-960" alt="Nurse Betty Renee Zellweger" data-mce-source="USA Films" /></p><p>Back in 2013, Princeton social psychologist Susan Fiske and graduate student Cydney Dupree <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/Supplement_4/13593.full"><span>asked people to rate professions in terms of warmth and competence</span></a>. Supposedly, these two factors <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-clinton-brand-perception-2016-9">go a long way in predicting how we feel about almost anything</a>: whether we feel sympathy, contempt, admiration, envy, and more.</p>
<p>We came across a chart from the study in <a href="https://fidelum.com/us-celebrity-politician-brand-warmth-competence-study/"><span>a political brand analysis</span></a> by Fiske&rsquo;s occasional research partner, Chris Malone of Fidelum Partners.</p>
<p>Below, you can see the professions people respect most and least:</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5849960de02ba75d658b716e-956/screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-114423-am.jpg" alt="professions warmth competence" data-mce-source="https://fidelum.com/us-celebrity-politician-brand-warmth-competence-study/" /></p>
<p>As Fiske and Dupree explained in the original study, low scores on warmth can lead to trouble: "Being seen as competent but cold might not seem problematic until one recalls that communicator credibility requires not just status and expertise but also trustworthiness (warmth)."</p>
<p>Fiske and Dupree suggest that low warmth scores for scientists may explain why people are skeptical about global warming claims.</p>
<p>Another interesting part of the study? As <a href="http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/09/chart-shows-how-respected-different-jobs-are.html"><span>NYMag&rsquo;s Jesse Singal</span></a> pointed out when it came out, "lawyers are viewed as cold, ruthlessly efficient machines, of course." Also: people assume blue collar workers aren&rsquo;t very competent. Also: people really like nurses.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/study-finds-words-associated-with-stereotypes-of-gender-age-politics-2016-11" >You may be stereotyped if you use these words</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-autocomplete-for-north-america-2016-10" >Google reveals what people really think about parts of North America</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-professions-are-most-respected-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/7-jobs-welcome-canada-immigration-express-entry-2016-11">7 jobs that will make you most welcome in Canada</a></p> USA Filmshttp://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-tv-shows-around-the-world-right-now-2016-12The 25 hottest TV shows in the world right nowhttp://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-tv-shows-around-the-world-right-now-2016-12
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 13:37:57 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/580fb264b28a644d008b4c2d-1314/twd-comic-con-2016-pic.jpg" alt="The Walking Dead" data-mce-source="AMC" /></p><p>There may finally be a way to rank TV shows across all platforms.</p>
<p>Parrot Analytics has developed a tool to measure demand for shows, considering&nbsp;factors like viewing (where data is available), peer-to-peer sharing, social media chatter, viewer-generated ratings, and more. The firm shared with us an exclusive list of the hottest shows around the world from November 1-28.</p>
<p>AMC's "The Walking Dead" was on top of the pile, scoring higher than ever after the provocative beginning to its seventh season.</p>
<p>HBO finished strong with "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld" at two and three.</p>
<p>Then there are a bunch of US network shows, many of which are no doubt streamed on Netflix and the like. A striking six of them are based on DC Comics characters&mdash;"The Flash" at 4, "Lucifer" at 7, "Arrow" at 8, "Gotham" at 9, "Legends of Tomorrow" at 13, and "Supergirl" at 20. Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." sneaks in at 21.</p>
<p>The only Asian series on the list were Korean variety show "Running Man" at 15 and Japanese animations&nbsp;"Naruto: Shippuden"&nbsp;at 16 and "One Piece" at 18.</p>
<p>The only digital original series was Netflix's "Black Mirror" at 24.</p>
<p>These rankings, of course, rely on often tangential data, crunched with a black-box algorithm, but they may be the best we have. Parrot has generated plenty of <a href="https://theringer.com/tv-ratings-streaming-nielsen-symphony-parrot-7d392bf32ef2#.6fbilwd2h">buzz in the industry</a>, announced partnerships with the likes of <a href="http://www.recode.net/2015/12/16/11621516/bbc-uses-artificial-intelligence-to-track-down-new-audiences-for">BBC</a> and <a href="http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2016120145265/walking-dead-season-7-shatters-viewing-expectations.html#axzz4Rh69nodi">Fox</a>, and made sharp predictions like <a href="http://variety.com/2015/data/news/tepid-demand-for-originals-on-netflix-in-japan-1201581943/">how Netflix originals would flop in Japan</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/58419644ba6eb6b1018b72e3-1758/screen shot 2016-12-02 at 102949 am.png" alt="Screen Shot 2016 12 02 at 10.29.49 AM" data-mce-source="http://www.parrotanalytics.com/demand-rating/" /></p>
<h2>Here's the&nbsp;top 25 globally for Nov. 1-28:</h2>
<p><strong>1. "The Walking Dead"</strong> with 8.0 million demand expressions and 30% growth since October.</p>
<p>AMC's zombie series won by a long shot, thanks to a ton of social media talk following the provocative opening of season seven in October. Apparently, it's a global phenomenon.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57f5429b57540cb2018b4f78-800" alt="the walking dead" data-mce-source="AMC" data-mce-caption="AMC's &amp;quotThe Walking Dead&amp;quot" /><strong>2. "Game of Thrones"</strong> with 5.1 million demand expressions and -4% growth since October.</p>
<p>HBO's blockbuster is near the top despite its latest season ending five months ago. The show scores particularly high on peer-to-peer streaming during the off-season.</p>
<p><strong>3. "Westworld"</strong> with 4.9 million demand expressions and 42% growth since October.</p>
<p>HBO's newest hit started strong in October and got even stronger in November.</p>
<p><strong>4. "The Flash"</strong> with 4.7 million demand expressions and 17% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>5. "The Big Bang Theory"</strong> with 3.9 million demand expressions and 5% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>6. "Pretty Little Liars"</strong> with 3.4 million demand expressions and 5% growth since October.</p>
<p>The network teen drama is, as we've already reported, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-netflix-shows-by-country-2016-9">very popular on Netflix</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56560f59c2814469008b58a2-1280" alt="pretty little liars social media" data-mce-source="Freeform" /><strong>7. "Lucifer"</strong> with 2.9 million demand expressions and 21% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>8. "Arrow"</strong> with 2.7 million demand expressions and 19% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>9. "Gotham"</strong> with 2.6 million demand expressions and 3% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>10. "Quantico"</strong> with 2.5 million demand expressions and 3% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>11. "The Vampire Diaries"</strong> with 2.2 million demand expressions and 31% growth since October.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/535565206bb3f7b07ea35746-1293/the-vampire-diaries.png" alt="The Vampire Diaries" data-mce-source="The Vampire Diaries screencap" data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcIeF0xVopU" /><strong>12. "Suits"</strong> with 2.1 million demand expressions and -20% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>13. "DC's Legends of Tomorrow"</strong> with 2.1 million demand expressions and 71% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>14. "American Horror Story"</strong> with 2.1 million demand expressions and -25% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>15. "Running Man"</strong> with 2.1 million demand expressions and 0% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>16. "Naruto: Shippuden"</strong> with 2.0 million demand expressions and -6% growth since October.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/584197f4ba6eb604688b62b5-985/narutoshippuden492986.jpg" alt="naruto_shippuden_492986" data-mce-source="Naruto: Shippuden" /><strong>17. "How To Get Away With Murder"</strong> with 1.9 million demand expressions and 20% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>18. "One Piece"</strong> with 1.9 million demand expressions and 7% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>19. "Supernatural"</strong> with 1.9 million demand expressions and 15% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>20. "Supergirl"</strong> with 1.8 million demand expressions and 42% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>21. "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."</strong> with 1.8 million demand expressions and -3% growth since October.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5841986eba6eb603688b6302-895/undefined" alt="agents of shield " data-mce-source="ABC / Agents of SHIELD" data-link="https://www.facebook.com/AgentsofShield" /><strong>22. "The Blacklist"</strong> with 1.8 million demand expressions and 6% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>23. "Shameless"</strong> with 1.7 million demand expressions and 33% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>24. "Black Mirror"</strong> with 1.7 million demand expressions and 40% growth since October.</p>
<p><strong>25. "Grey's Anatomy"</strong> with 1.7 million demand expressions and -4% growth since October.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-most-popular-shows-2016-9" >The 20 most popular shows on Netflix</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-mirror-san-junipero-2016-11" >There's something unusual about the best 'Black Mirror' episode</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-tv-shows-around-the-world-right-now-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/westworld-man-in-black-william-hbo-video-2016-11">Here are all the major clues in 'Westworld' that hint to the identity of the 'Man in Black'</a></p> AMChttp://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-on-the-future-2016-11Kanye West explains why he’s so optimistic about the futurehttp://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-on-the-future-2016-11
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 11:09:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/583c540aba6eb67d058b6577-2400/undefined" alt="Kanye west" data-mce-source="Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Kanye West." /></p><p>Kanye West has an inspiring outlook on the future, and he&rsquo;s got enough talent and drive &mdash; in music, fashion, film, and more &mdash; to make people listen.&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.surfacemag.com/articles/kanye-west-art-design-never-compromise/">His new interview with Spencer Bailey at Surface</a><span> is full of optimistic quotes.</span></p>
<p>On the new generation:</p>
<p>"There is currently a lack of people in power who are motivated by the idea of helping people, but thanks to the internet, there are people who would never have made it through a corporate system who are able to jump into positions of power in their twenties. They can collectively work on ideas for the new world.</p>
<p>On race:</p>
<p>"10 years from now to be black is going to be a completely different thing, because of what we&rsquo;re doing now .&hellip; Through culture. And business. And interracial dating.</p>
<p>On inequality:</p>
<p>"When I&rsquo;m under the gas at the dentist&rsquo;s office, sometimes I think, One day, all the things that were only afforded to the rich &hellip;. that inspiration needs to be taken out of the box of luxury and given to all people. The world would be better. People would be happier.</p>
<p>"I will be a part of this because I don&rsquo;t want to miss out. I don&rsquo;t wanna be dead when the world starts getting good.</p>
<p>Check out much more at <a href="http://www.surfacemag.com/articles/kanye-west-art-design-never-compromise/"><span>Surface</span></a>.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gatess-optimistic-outlook-2014-3" >Bill Gates explains why he's so optimistic about the future</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/life-for-average-person-dollar-street-2016-10" >Here's what life is like for the average family on Earth</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-on-the-future-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/westworld-man-in-black-william-hbo-video-2016-11">Here are all the major clues in 'Westworld' that hint to the identity of the 'Man in Black'</a></p> Gonzalo Fuentes/Reutershttp://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-name-animals-in-picture-2016-11Humans may have evolved to spot an animal hidden in this picturehttp://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-name-animals-in-picture-2016-11
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 11:44:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p>Can you identify the animal hidden in each of these four pictures? According to a recent study, one should be easier than the others.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/583476fce02ba730208b598a-1249" alt="spot the animals" data-mce-source="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002" /></p>
<p>A study out of Nagoya University found that humans could <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342">identify blurred pictures of snakes</a> more accurately than those of birds, cats, and dogs.</p>
<p>Participants were shown a series of decreasingly blurry images of different animals and asked at each step to identify the animal as one of four choices. They were able to identify snakes with 80% accuracy at step seven (shown above) but couldn&rsquo;t identify other animals as accurately until steps nine or 10.</p>
<p>The results support Snake Detection Theory, the idea that our pre-primate ancestors <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/human-vision-evolved-alert-snake-detection-theory-2016-8">evolved stronger visual systems</a> to detect their "<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/did-snakes-help-build-primate-brain">first and most persistent predator</a>." According to the theory, the visual centers in our brain remain especially good at picking out snakes. Other studies supporting it have shown that children and monkeys react faster when identifying snakes, compared with other animals.</p>
<p>The nonscientific demo above is ordered clockwise from top left: bird, snake, cat, fish.</p>
<p>See the full series from the study below:</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5834771fe02ba734008b5cd2-1200/birdfigure.jpg" alt="bird_figure" data-mce-source="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002" /></p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5834772de02ba71c008b5ccf-1200/snakefigure.jpg" alt="snake_figure" data-mce-source="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002" /><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/58347757e02ba78f1c8b59ef-1200/fishfigure.jpg" alt="fish_figure" data-mce-source="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002" /><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58347761e02ba75c658b4c41-1200/catfigure.jpg" alt="cat_figure" data-mce-source="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002" /></p>
<p>And here's a chart showing results by animal:</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5834776fe02ba72b318b5862-648/screen shot 2016-11-22 at 114818 am.png" alt="Screen Shot 2016 11 22 at 11.48.18 AM" data-mce-source="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002" /></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/23andme-genes-traits-hair-loss-2016-11" >23andMe is discovering hundreds of genetic links to traits, and more is coming</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/memento-mori-roadkill-2016-10" >17 beautiful pictures of roadkill and other dead things</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-name-animals-in-picture-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mars-travel-humans-space-robots-2016-12">A space engineer explains why humans will never go past Mars</a></p> http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164342#pone-0164342-g002http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vote-in-new-york-city-staten-island-2016-11The New York City neighborhoods that voted for Trumphttp://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vote-in-new-york-city-staten-island-2016-11
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 11:32:40 -0500Gus Lubin
<p>Not everyone in New York City voted how you might expect.</p>
<p>While President-elect Donald Trump received&nbsp;only 18% of the vote citywide, he got 57% in Staten Island, according to an analysis by DNAInfo. His results in Brooklyn were average at 18%, while in Bronx and Manhattan he got only 10%. In Queens, he was above average at 22%.</p>
<p>You can see the trends below from <a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/numbers/clinton-trump-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-nyc">DNAInfo (click for an interactive version</a>):</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/583865efe02ba75c658b5342-1126/screen shot 2016-11-25 at 104454 am.png" alt="election results by neighborhood nyc" data-mce-source="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/numbers/clinton-trump-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-nyc" /></p>
<p>We saw this map on "Saturday Night Live," where Staten Islander Pete Davidson joked about&nbsp;"that big red wound" that is his home borough.</p>
<p>What factors explain Trump support at a county level? Take it from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/11/19/the-country-by-county-data-on-trump-voters-shows-why-he-won/"><span>a post-election analysis by Dr. Loren Collingwood for The&nbsp;Washington Post</span></a>: "Education was an especially strong predictor of the vote, with race and economic distress &mdash; particularly declines in manufacturing &mdash; playing important, yet somewhat less influential, roles."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-food-chains-in-america-maps-2016-11" >These maps show how 15 fast food chains dominate America</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-70s-80s-richard-sandler-2016-10" >15 striking pictures of New York in a grittier era</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vote-in-new-york-city-staten-island-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/highlights-trump-obamas-turbulent-relationship-isis-birth-certificate-2016-11">'He's the founder of ISIS': Watch Trump and Obama trade insults throughout the years</a></p> https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/numbers/clinton-trump-president-vice-president-every-neighborhood-map-election-results-voting-general-primary-nychttp://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-food-chains-in-america-maps-2016-11These maps show how 15 fast food chains dominate in America (MCD, SBUX, YUM, DNKN, QSR, DPZ, PZZA)http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-food-chains-in-america-maps-2016-11
Tue, 22 Nov 2016 09:54:00 -0500Gus Lubin and Mike Nudelman
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58337a73ba6eb6b1018b5a71-1372" alt="subway location map esri" data-mce-source="Esri" data-mce-caption="Subway has a location on every one of these dots." /></p><p>Fast food brands are fighting for every untapped corner of America.</p>
<p>To see which brands are winning where, we turned to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-67-types-of-people-in-america-2016-10"><span>geographic research company Esri</span></a>.</p>
<p>Subway is the brand with the most locations, with 26,887 <a href="http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=ffa4fc6eaa914cada8b22259d7ba9626&amp;extent=-127.1971,22.4949,-62.2899,51.9867"><span>spread across every part of the country</span></a>. McDonald&rsquo;s comes second at 13,813 locations, also <a href="http://esrimedia.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=2a6d0ecb7e5645afb49d8f38a2d2b87b&amp;extent=-130.0481,21.5069,-65.1409,51.3256"><span>found everywhere</span></a>. Starbucks comes third at 10,138 locations, <a href="http://esrimedia.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=4e4a019af355441aa1b6485430f8b6b4&amp;extent=-130.0481,21.5069,-65.1409,51.3256"><span>concentrated in urban areas</span></a>.</p>
<p>Check out maps of the top 15 below. (Note:&nbsp;Data was gathered by Infogroup in Feb. 2016 and&nbsp;does not include locations in gas stations.)</p><p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-67-types-of-people-in-america-2016-10" >The 67 types of people in America—according to market researchers</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-kfc-is-so-addictive-delicious-2016-8" >9 scientific reasons why KFC is addicting</a></strong></p>
<h3>#1 Subway has 26,887 stores in the US.</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/58334ebdba6eb64e018b5048-400-300/1-subwayhas-26887-stores-in-the-us.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><span><a href="http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=ffa4fc6eaa914cada8b22259d7ba9626&amp;extent=-127.1971,22.4949,-62.2899,51.9867">Strong everywhere</a></span>, Subway&rsquo;s highest sales are in California, Texas, and Florida.</p>
<p>The brand has suffered <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/subway-revenue-drops-as-it-closes-hundreds-of-u-s-restaurants"><span>falling revenue</span></a> recently, however, with some people pointing to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/subway-sales-are-declining-2016-5"><span>over-expansion</span></a>. At <a href="http://nrn.com/us-top-100/2016-top-100-restaurant-chain-countdown#slide-48-field_images-168701"><span>$12 billion</span></a> in US sales, it falls behind Starbucks (<a href="http://nrn.com/us-top-100/2016-top-100-restaurant-chain-countdown#slide-49-field_images-168701"><span>$16 billion</span></a>) and way behind McDonald&rsquo;s (<a href="http://nrn.com/us-top-100/2016-top-100-restaurant-chain-countdown#slide-50-field_images-168701"><span>$36 billion</span></a>).</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>#2 McDonald’s has 13,813 stores in the US.</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58334ebdba6eb6b1018b594f-400-300/2-mcdonalds-has-13813-stores-in-the-us.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><span><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__arcg.is_2fIDv30&amp;d=DQMGaQ&amp;c=n6-cguzQvX_tUIrZOS_4Og&amp;r=Oj3n2nnzlsXV4mEG7ULYYT1wemUdsjnzUNnBqM51QMs&amp;m=xu_eMVV0MQxoMcQxWt1IwlfRu_1IU2pGcQoaohvydVA&amp;s=UktgHlowNFRwxBoFlFPk_xQBJmrQ8WEoWipPafNl3kg&amp;e=">Strong everywhere</a></span>, McDonald&rsquo;s highest sales are in California, Texas, and Florida.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>#3 Starbucks has 10,138 stores in the US.</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58334ebdba6eb602688b4965-400-300/3-starbucks-has-10138-stores-in-the-us.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><span><a href="http://esrimedia.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=4e4a019af355441aa1b6485430f8b6b4&amp;extent=-130.0481,21.5069,-65.1409,51.3256">Concentrated in urban areas</a></span> around the US, Starbucks&rsquo; highest sales are in California, Texas, and New York.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-food-chains-in-america-maps-2016-11#/#4-pizza-hut-has-7581-stores-in-the-us-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> Esrihttp://www.businessinsider.com/todays-turkeys-bigger-than-past-birds-2016-11Today's turkeys are monstrous super birds, more than twice as big as in 1929http://www.businessinsider.com/todays-turkeys-bigger-than-past-birds-2016-11
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 14:18:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p>Are you supporting inhumane factory farming this Thanksgiving?</p>
<p>"The vast majority of turkeys are still being raised in conventional farms in crowded warehouses with barely enough room to move," says Daisy Freund, director of ASPCA&rsquo;s farm welfare program.</p>
<p>What&rsquo;s more, most turkeys grow <a href="http://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms#Turkeys"><span>dangerously fast and large</span></a>, with breasts so big they can&rsquo;t copulate and may have trouble walking or breathing.</p>
<p>"They weighed 13 pounds in the 1930s and they weigh more than 30 pounds today, so that&rsquo;s really a different animal growing on largely the same skeletal structure and suffering as a result," Freund says.</p>
<p>The US turkey industry has increased bird weight dramatically through <a href="http://qz.com/297885/how-americas-thanksgiving-turkeys-got-so-huge/"><span>careful breeding and nutrition science</span></a>.</p>
<p>The following image from an NC State study shows&nbsp;a typical modern breed next to a typical breed from 1966 at 6 weeks old&mdash;where <a href="http://www.worldpoultry.net/PageFiles/27901/001_boerderij-download-WP6578D01.pdf"><span>the modern breed weighs about twice as much</span></a>:</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/58334398ba6eb671018b5919-435/66 vs now turkeys.png" alt="66 vs now turkeys" data-mce-source="http://www.worldpoultry.net/PageFiles/27901/001_boerderij-download-WP6578D01.pdf" /></p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s a chart of turkey growth since 1929:</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5833438bba6eb6b1018b5914-600/turkey growth since 29.png" alt="turkey growth since 29" data-mce-source="www.esa.doc.gov" /></p>
<p>America is actually <a href="http://www.aspca.org/news/aspcas-2016-predictions-farm-animals"><span>making progress on&nbsp;farm animal welfare</span></a>, according to the ASPCA, with a rise in welfare certifications, a decline in caged animals, and more attention to crowding of&nbsp;chicken.</p>
<p>With turkeys,&nbsp;<span>"there are a small number of higher welfare pasture- or welfare-certified turkey products, and we see an increased interest in that pasture heritage," Freund says. Still, "t</span>he turkey industry has not had a huge amount of movement."</p>
<p>If you want to buy humane turkeys, ASPCA says you should watch out for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-natural-meat-food-label-means-2016-3"><span>deceptive labels</span></a> and look for Certified Humane, Global Animal Partnership (step 2 and above), and Animal Welfare Approved.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-turkeys-are-made-2014-11?op=1" >Here's what the last few months have been like for your Thanksgiving turkey</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/todays-turkeys-bigger-than-past-birds-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/style-lilliana-vasquez-what-is-business-casual-finance-women-men-2016-11">A style expert explains what 'business casual' actually means</a></p> http://www.worldpoultry.net/PageFiles/27901/001_boerderij-download-WP6578D01.pdfhttp://www.businessinsider.com/alien-language-in-arrival-linguist-2016-11'Arrival' nails how humans might actually talk to aliens, a linguist sayshttp://www.businessinsider.com/alien-language-in-arrival-linguist-2016-11
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:38:14 -0500Gus Lubin
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5825e140dd089568398b474c-2048/arrival-alien-language.jpg" alt="arrival alien language" data-mce-source="Paramount Pictures" /></p><p>It&rsquo;s not often you see a sci-fi blockbuster centered on linguistics. Thankfully, "Arrival" is fairly&nbsp;accurate in its portrayal of the field, according to professor Jessica Coon, who consulted on the movie.</p>
<p>"Early on before they started filming, I read a few drafts of the screenplay, and I was asked to give feedback on some of the more linguistically relevant parts," Coon, who teaches linguistics at McGill University, recently told Business Insider. "A lot of the comments they took into account. Some of them they said, 'Linguists in the end are not Hollywood's main audience, it'll be all right if some of these don't make it in.' In the end, it turned out great, I think."</p>
<p>"Arrival," based on the short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, focuses on humans trying to communicate with mysterious aliens, called heptapods, who appear around the world. It stars Amy Adams as linguist Louise Banks.</p>
<p>The production, filmed in Montreal, turned to McGill professor Morgan Sonderegger for help creating a strange spoken language, splicing whale songs, big cat purring, and more.</p>
<p>Production designer Patrice Vermette and his wife, artist Martine Bertrand, took the lead in visualizing the written language, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arrival-how-alien-language-was-made-2016-11"><span>creating around 100 swirly circular symbols</span></a>. Stephen Wolfram, founder of Mathematica coding software, and his son, Christopher Wolfram, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/11/arrivals-designers-crafted-mesmerizing-alien-alphabet/"><span>helped analyze the symbols</span></a>. And then Coon got involved.</p>
<p>"I worked a lot with the set crew, helping get the visual aspect of being a linguist and doing linguistics right," Coon said. "They came to the office, they took pictures of everything, they borrowed books off the shelf, they had me go in and write on the white board in Amy Adams' office. They brought me to the military cryptography tent and wanted to know what's going to be on the white boards here where they're deciphering the language, what's their to-do list look like? How would somebody annotate these logograms? So they sent me a stack of these logogram printouts and said, well, you're a linguist, figure it out."</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58332608ba6eb637008b5896-2000/arrival-alien-language .png" alt="arrival alien language " data-mce-source="Jan Thijs/Paramount Pictures" /></p>
<p>In the movie, Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) focus on cracking the written language, which is portrayed in the smoke-like symbols.</p>
<p>"The way a linguist would approach this is the same way a linguist would approach understanding the grammar of a human language, which is looking for patterns," Coon said. "In the movie, one of the scenes they show is Ian walking and they're trying to get the heptapod equivalent of 'Ian walks' or 'Ian is walking.' Then maybe they would ask for 'Louise is walking' and look at these two symbols and say what do they have in common?"</p>
<p>The idea is that&nbsp;you have to figure out those basics before you can build up to complex questions.</p>
<p>"What the film gets exactly right is both the interactive nature but also that you really have to start small," Coon said.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58332642ba6eb634008b58bd-2000/amy-adams-arrival.jpg" alt="amy adams arrival" data-mce-source="Jan Thijs/Paramount Pictures" /></p>
<p>Aside from looking and sounding strange, the heptapod language has some unique features. One is the disconnect between the spoken and the written versions.</p>
<p>"A really interesting thing about this heptapod language is it doesn&rsquo;t have any relationship to the spoken heptapod language," Coon said. "As far as I&rsquo;m aware, human written languages are always based on human spoken language... A heptapod might wonder why did we waste this medium just writing down the same thing that we would say."</p>
<p>Analyzing the languages, of course, took creative license.</p>
<p>"[The creators] are the first to admit that it&rsquo;s not a full language, this is not the next Klingon," Coon said.</p>
<p>Indeed, it would not have been possible to create an alien language that lived up to its description in the book, since understanding the timeless language supposedly unlocked the ability to see into the future.</p>
<p>"It&rsquo;s an artistic idea of how complex a language could be, how different a language could be," Coon said, "but, no, this is art."</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5833243be02ba7c45e8b48c5-1200/soyl-cpt-031.jpg" alt="arrival logograms" data-mce-source="Paramount Pictures" /><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/58332476e02ba734008b588a-1200/soyl-cpt-002.jpg" alt="arrival logogram" data-mce-source="Paramount Pictures" /><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/583324d7e02ba734008b588d-1200/soyl-cpt-008.jpg" alt="SOYL CPT 008" data-mce-source="Paramount Pictures" />Coon says consulting for a sci-fi film was a rare treat.</p>
<p>"It&rsquo;s never happened, and I&rsquo;m not sure it will ever happen again, but that&rsquo;s something that&rsquo;s so great and unusual about this movie," she said. "Here we have a movie where an academic is the protagonist, and not just an academic, an academic linguist, the hero of a sci-fi movie."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-mirror-san-junipero-2016-11" >It takes a while to spot what's sci-fi about Black Mirror's best episode</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/folktale-map-reveals-cultural-links-2014-12" >This folktale map shows links between cultures</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/alien-language-in-arrival-linguist-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/westworld-man-in-black-william-hbo-video-2016-11">Here are all the major clues in 'Westworld' that hint to the identity of the 'Man in Black'</a></p> Paramount Pictures